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6 reasons why you need a corporate travel agency to make booking business travel easier.

In today’s day and age, booking travel is easy, isn’t it? That’s why so many of us choose to book our own holidays using the Internet instead of popping down to the high street. Despite being easily accessible, booking your business travel requirements can be a time-consuming process becoming a much harder task than it should be, especially if you’re booking for a large number of employees on multiple business trips.

By outsourcing your corporate travel needs and enlisting the help from a travel management company (TMC), you can save time along with so many more benefits.

I have listed below 6 reasons to help you consider using a corporate travel agency to assist the process of booking business travel requirements...

#1 Expertise and industry knowledge

A good Travel Management Company (TMC) will provide you with expert advice, alongside the most appropriate corporate travel solutions for you and your companies needs. Business travel consultants have heaps of travel knowledge and will often come up with more cost effective options than a website can give you in a much faster time frame. Rather than spending hours researching your next business trip, consider handing your itinerary over to an expert and let them do the work of arranging the travel for you.

Good Travel Management consultants have an average of 17 years’ experience in business travel and lots of corporate travel qualifications, making the booking process an easy and enjoyable one.

#2 Personal Service

Your business travel agency should become an extension of your organisation. A dedicated Account Manager should be assigned to your business from the start, to ensure the relationship between client and business travel agent is positive from the get -go.

#3 Management information / strategic account management

Controlling costs is critical for any business, so it’s essential that any travel management company you employ is going to more than earn its keep. A good business travel partner will give you expert analysis of your corporate travel spend to be able to offer cost-effective solutions that best meet your companies requirements.

As part of the service, your assigned Account Manager will get to know your business inside out so they can make recommendations on how you can improve your business travel programme and identify further ways to cut costs to your travel spend. From consultancy on large strategic projects to supplier management, account managers work hard to reduce costs, add value and help you drive efficiencies.

#4 24 hour assistance

If you need to find your traveller fast, how will you do this when you don’t know where they have made their booking? A travel management company will track your travellers for you, so if an emergency happens they’ll be able to make contact and support them within minutes. They’ll also have vital experience in handling crisis situations which is crucial when you’re urgently trying to get a traveller home. When a company is responsible for the welfare of its employees travelling on business, a travel management company will give you peace of mind that your travellers have the support they need 24/7.

#5 Payment Solutions

One of the most time demanding tasks is paying pay for business travel services, and if you’re managing this yourself, this may involve the reconciliation of dozens of invoices and expense receipts before you can even begin to make sense of who’s owed what.

Of course, you may be happy as you are, perhaps paying by BACS or cheque, as invoices become due and reimbursing expenses to out of pocket employees. You “know where you are” with these tried and tested methods. However, you should consider some smarter options to streamline the process and a corporate travel agency can help you with that.

Most corporate travel agencies will offer a range of payment methods (more information on these methods HERE) If you have an outdated payment solution, you will almost certainly not be as efficient and cost-effective as you need to be, so check with the corporate travel management company what options are best for you and your business travel needs.

#6 Airline Loyalty Programmes

Many travellers are familiar with frequent flyer programmes offered by airlines that give them points every time they fly, but lots of airlines also offer corporate reward schemes for organisations that travel on business too. If your employees travel for business, it’s highly likely you’ll benefit from one of the schemes available.

If you use a travel management company, your account manager will be able to advise you which schemes your organisation should enrol in. You’ll receive a membership number which your travel management company will add to your company profile so that it’s automatically added to all bookings. This means you’ll collect points without having to do a thing.

So there you have it! By implementing a travel management company you can smooth out the process of booking your business travel requirements, leaving you to get on with the important stuff.

About Sarah Walton

Sarah is one of our experienced Business Development Managers and has worked within the travel industry for 25 years. She brings extensive knowledge to the business and loves nothing more than helping a client achieve their business travel objectives.